Gaining popularity among audiences around the world, the Barbie movie, featuring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has brought both praise and controversy. While this may seem like a simple dispute, a deep dive into these discussions raises important concerns about our generation’s values.
Released on July 21, 2023, the Barbie movie discusses issues involving gender equality by depicting a utopian world in which gender roles are reversed. Greta Gerwig, the director, aims to provide comfort and understanding to an audience of mainly women by pointing out the double standards of modern society. Whether it be subtly mocking the unrealistic expectations or the absurd treatment women have faced for centuries, the movie does not fail in leaving the viewers emotional and inspired. By incorporating both comedic relief and serious problems without overpowering each other, the movie has been praised by all generations of women.
However, on the flip side of this phenomenon, many people have also taken to social media to express their dislike of the movie. The majority being men, viewers have criticized the movie for being “hateful” towards men or supporting a political feminist agenda even though the movie merely flips the gender roles to demonstrate what women have experienced for years. For instance, Ben Shapiro, a prominent media presence and father of two daughters, created a Youtube video in which he buys Barbie dolls just to burn them in a garbage can. He then proceeded to make two lengthy videos discussing his frustrations. The reactions of these males, especially those of younger generations, toward this movie only proves the point that Gerwig makes.
These strong feelings of dislike towards a simple movie discussing gender equality issues at surface level raises concerns about what this means for present and future generations. Despite this being one of the only times a movie has centered around women, people have already found several issues with it. This is clearly concerning as it demonstrates the shallow values and close-minded perspectives of many. In China, for example, it has become a trend for women to take their significant other to see the Barbie movie in order to test their reaction. The fact that one lighthearted movie can create such a strong response in hundreds of men is undoubtedly worrying.
Nevertheless, this brings hope for the future as more attention is brought to these persistent issues. If more people contribute little by little to the topic, this will hopefully create a significant impact.
Comments are closed.